Something's Changing: Response-fic to Loveater
by marcielle
Summary: My frustrations with Loveater prompted me to write a fic of how I want Miracle Queen to go, even though I know this will be disregarded when Miracle Queen is released. A story in which Marinette is out in Paris as Ladybug and runs in to Chat Noir. Three-shot. Takes place directly after the end of Loveater; spoilers ahead. Update: Final chapter is in the process of being written.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello hello Miraculous Ladybug fandom! Just a few things to clear up before we start. **

**First and ****foremost****, I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, nor any of it's characters, which is really sad, because I would love for my job to be working on a show about superheros with spots and cat ears, but alas, that is not my life. **

**Secondly, this is my first time writing fanfiction, so please review, I want know what you think! But please, don't leave any really nasty reviews, not-necessarily-positive reviews should be in the form of constructive ****criticism. If you really hate my story with a burning passion, just don't read it. **

**Lastly, this story might seem a little like Lukanette at first, but I promise you its not. After watching Loveater, I've had enough Lukanette and Adrigami to last me a lifetime. Seriously, that episode was NOT okay on so many levels. **

**Alright, I think that covers it. Enjoy!**

**~Marci**

* * *

Marinette wasn't sure how long she stood on the sidewalk, just letting Luka hold her. It could've been a few minutes, half an hour, 2 hours?! Marinette didn't know. All she knew was that when she finally, reluctantly pulled away from him, it was definitely not one in the afternoon anymore.

Luka blinked down at her, concern in his eyes. "Marinette?" he asked. Just one word, but it said all she needed to know; he cared about her. And it broke her heart just as much as it mended it.

"Thank you," Marinette whispered.

Luka smiled, and the soft evening light made it look that much sweeter. "Anything for you Marinette," he whispered back.

Marinette smiled, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I should get back," she said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie.

"I can walk you back," Luka offered, though he wasn't really asking her, as he would've insisted on it had she argued.

Marinette just nodded, too tired to object, and held Luka's hand for support as he walked her home.

* * *

After Luka had made sure that Marinette had eaten at least one macaroon, drank some water, and settled down comfortably on her chaise lounge in her room (seeing as her parents were out for the evening), he reluctantly left her after she insisted he had done more than enough for her, and that he needed to get some rest himself.

"I really needed that Luka, I can't thank you enough, but now I just need some space to clear my head," she had told him while wearing a reassuring smile that he hadn't quite bought.

"Are you sure Marinette?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she had smiled at him for real, even if it was a little watery.

"Alright," he had relented. He'd started to open her trapdoor, but before he went down, he'd turned around one last time to say, "If you need to talk, or anything at all, just call me."

Marinette had given him a soft look that he couldn't quite place. "I know," she said.

Luka had then smiled at her one last time before closing her trapdoor and walking out the bakery, beginning his walk back to his mom's boat.

Luka wasn't usually one for aggressive thoughts, but all he could think about on his walk home was smacking some sense into a certain blond model for hurting Marinette this way, if Luka was right about why she was upset.

Although… "_I'm having to put up a front all the time, I can't be myself with anyone anymore."_ He wasn't sure what that meant, but he hoped that Marinette would tell him, he was really worried about her.

* * *

"Marinette?" the voice of Tikki squeaked as soon as Luka was gone. "Are you ok?"

Marinette looked down at the tiny creature and sighed. "I don't know, Tikki," she admitted, turning to stare out her window. "I don't know how I feel about anyone anymore."

Outwardly, Tikki smiled sadly, composing herself for the sake of Marinette, but inwardly, she wanted to scream, and not for the first time today. Never in her entire existence had Tikki been so angry with any miraculous guardian then she was with Master Fu (and that was saying something, seeing as Tikki has literally been around since the big bang). It might seem like Adrien Agreste was just a silly crush, but Tikki was growing closer to Marinette to point where she could feel some of Marinette's emotions, and it was more than that. Not only was Tikki's chosen constantly shoving down her heartbreak, but her heart was breaking every time she rejected Chat Noir, and it was so infuriating because they were the same goddamn person!

Unfortunately, whether it was okay for them to know each other's identities wasn't her decision to make, it was Master Fu's, and while she was royally pissed with him right now, he was the guardian and it was his decision.

Still, Tikki wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

Lost in thought, Tikki hadn't noticed Marinette getting up and walking to her window to stare out into the city, particularly the rooftops, but when she did, she heard Marinette's silent question.

"You know Marinette," Tikki started softly, "if you need to leap rooftops to clear your head, you only need to say three words."

Marinette smiled gratefully at her kwami. "What would I do without you Tikki?"

Tikki giggled. "Those were seven words, Marinette."

Marinette snorted in response, but her eyes slowly crinkled into a smile.

"I better try again then, huh?" Marinette took a deep breath. "Tikki, spots on!"

Marinette, now Ladybug, leaped out of her window and hit a nearby rooftop running. _Oh yeah, _Ladybug thought as she raced across the tops of Paris, _I forgot how good this felt._

* * *

Meanwhile, Adrien leaped out of his bedroom window in a black leather catsuit only moments after Ladybug, with the same goal of clearing his head, even though the same two scenes kept replaying over and over in his mind.

"_Ladybug separated us… because there was an akuma going after people in love."_

"_People… in love…?" Adrien questioned, his mind slowly comprehending what his heart wouldn't._

_Adrien could only stand, wide-eyed, as Kagami gently grabbed him by the shoulders, leaned in, and planted a firm kiss on his lips, then leaned back to see his reaction, which was to blush furiously, chuckle nervously, and then do an awkward salute when his bodyguard shoved him rather forcefully into the car. _

His mind then fired back with a replay of Ladybug's comment, "_No more calling me M'lady?"_ and his guilty feelings of hope that maybe, just maybe, Ladybug had been jealous of the attention he'd been giving Kaga- Ryuko during the fight.

Chat Noir had become so lost in thought that he didn't even notice a fast approaching red blur until he slammed right into it or, as he quickly realized, _her_.

"Gah!" exclaimed the red clad superhero otherwise known as Ladybug. "What the heck Chat Noir?"

The cat in question attempted to stand up gracefully, but instead unceremoniously tripped over nothing due to exhaustion, dizziness, and a little too much sudden collision. Landing flat on his back, he blushed in embarrassment as he channeled a little too much Plagg and mewled indignantly.

"You are im_paw_sable sometimes," Ladybug huffed as she stood up and offered a hand to Chat Noir, which he took gratefully.

Chat Noir, despite his previous predicament, grinned and replied, "Was that a cat pun that my _meow_velous ears picked up M'lady?"

Scoffing, Ladybug put her hand on her hip. "I see the nickname's back already," she said, trying to play it off as a joke, but there was too much bitterness to it that she couldn't keep out, and Chat Noir saw right through it, his playful demeanor dropping.

"Ladybug, what's going on?' he asked, moving to place a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away sharply.

"What makes you think anything's wrong?" she snapped, making him jump back in surprise.

Chat Noir started slowly, "Well… other than you acting weird today during the fight with Loveater, the bitterness you put into that nickname comment, and I'll admit this one hurts a little, your sudden weariness of me," he took a deep breath, looked at ladybug with an emotion that she didn't think Chat Noir had still carried for her, and then said, "You've lost a bit of that beautiful gleam in your eye that I wish I hadn't taken for granted."

Ladybug sighed, and the tension in her shoulders released. Looking up at Chat, she replied, "What am I gonna go with you Chat Noir?"

"Talk to me," he answered. "Tell me what's going on, what I've done wrong." When Ladybug started to tear up again, Chat Noir pleaded softly, "Whatever it is, I can fix it."

"Oh Chat," Ladybug started, choking back sobs, she would _not _fall apart in front of Chat Noir, she just _wouldn't_. But when he came over and gave her a hug, she couldn't hold it back anymore. "I wish I could talk to you, tell you what's going on so that you understand, so that _I _understand, but I can't. For so many reasons, I c-can't. I just don't know how I f-feel anymore, or how I'm even supposed to feel."

"You and me both, bugaboo. You and me both," Chat whispered too soft for Ladybug to hear.

It occured to Chat, however, that that was a lie. He still loved Ladybug. Even after everything that had happened with Kagami, he still loved Ladybug, and that made him feel in the pit of his stomach a feeling that he would be become all too familiar with.

That feeling was guilt.

* * *

**A/N: Hello to all who read author's notes at the end of a chapter, and thank you for reading! This story was started by my extreme frustration with Loveater and I needed a place to vent my emotions, so this will most likely be a one-shot unless there are requests for me to continue. I do have some half formulated plans of where I might take this, but we'll see.**

**Also, if I do end up continuing this story, which love square ship do you guys want me to focus on? I feel like I could definitely take this in a Marichat and/or Adrinette direction, but if you think differently just let me know and I'll adjust accordingly.**

**Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again my lovely readers! Thank you to all who wrote a review, I really appreciate it so so much, and feel free to write another one for this chapter, I read all of them and they mean so much to me! Thank you for your kind words, requests and suggestions! I took them all into account, and I've decided to go with a mix of Ladynoir and Adrinette, let me know what you think!**

**Also, I watched Miracle Queen and I was absolutely not pleased at all with it's ending. So I am going to continue this fic as if the episode Miracle Queen never happened because I can not even express my anger with that episode into words.**

**Anyway, enjoy! **

* * *

Chloe Bourgeois had to remind herself that she was not in an anger induced dream. That she was, in fact, once again in possession of the bee miraculous and, once again, operating with the boost of an akuma.

Now, adding not one, but two more things to the list, she also had to remind herself that she was, in fact, standing in a dark room illuminated by a circular window tinted purple standing in front of the number one most wanted criminal of Paris; Hawk Moth.

Chloe, now Miracle Queen, stared around in disbelief, then said the only thing she could think of. "This place is dark, cold, gross, and ridiculous, _utterly ridiculous!_" Chloe paused, fully taking in her surroundings for the first time. Then she noticed something. "Where's your bird friend?"

Hawk Moth gave her a chilling look. "She is resting," he replied in a tone that implied that line of questioning was over.

"Whatever," Chloe said, shrugging off his cold tone. "What's the plan?"

Revealed none of his emotions, Hawk Moth began to lay out Chloe's role for the next few days. "I have the Guardian of the Miraculous in a secure location that no, I will not be disclosing to you," he said as Chloe opened her mouth to speak, then pouted and crossed her arms, but said nothing.

Hawk Moth continued. "You, or rather your wasps that you are able to summon, have the ability to have a person's worst nightmare play out right before their eyes once that person is stung. It will be an illusion to any spectators, but the person that the fear belongs to will be able to interact with it in all their five senses."

Miracle Queen inspected her nails. "And how exactly is that power gonna make _any _difference?" she said, putting in an implied _ridiculous! Utterly, ridiculous!_

Hawk Moth just continued to look at her with a consistent lack of emotion.

The akumatized miraculous holder looked up from her nails and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just tell me what to do to bring Ladybug down and I'll do it."

Hawk Moth's face formed into what could only really be called a wicked smile.

* * *

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was sprinting down the street, keenly aware of the fact that she was still a block away from school and had less than 30 seconds before the bell rang. Which was unusual for Marinette, she usually had a little less than 5 minutes to get to Francois Dupoint on time when she left the bakery.

Ah, how Marinette missed normal days.

Knowing that she had only a few seconds left, Marinette put on an extra burst of speed that even Ladybug would've gotten tired from…

… and ran headfirst into Adrien Agreste.

Normally, Marinette would've blathered some string of incoherent words meant to be an apology and then feel simultaneously embarrassed and lovestruck after the experience. But today, all Marinette saw when she looked up at Adrien was the kiss that he had shared with Kagami, and all the pain it had brought with the realization that she was going to have to be constantly putting up a mask. And not her black and red one.

"_That's stupid," _Chat had told her last night, sometime around 11 pm. "_You shouldn't have to pretend to be happy and paste on a smile every time your with, uh, what was his placeholder name again?"_

"_Erm, I think it was Bob, and the girl I think was Sally," Ladybug replied._

_Chat frowned good naturedly at that. "I thought we'd decided on Stanley and Vallery." _

"_No way. I never would have agreed to that, it was definitely Bob and Sal-"_

"_Anyway!" Chat interrupted pointedly, which got him both an eye roll and a reluctant giggle from the black-spotted hero. _

_Chat continued, this time in a softer tone. "You shouldn't have to pretend to be happy around Stanley and Vallery if your not, because that's going to wear on you over time and start to tear you up inside," Chat paused to take a shaky breath, and it occurred to Ladybug that he wasn't talking just about her situation with Adrien. "You have to tell him," he told her. "You have to tell Stanley the truth, so that you can stop pretending, so that you can be honest around him. It will hurt, but it will also help take away some of the long term pain."_

_His next words held so many different meanings and implications that Ladybug's heart officially ordered it's papers of resignation for head of the romance department._

"_It will help you move on."_

* * *

"Uh, Marinette, are you ok?" Adrien's words of concern startled Marinette back into reality, along with the late bell, but the two teens didn't move from their spot.

"Y-yeah," she lied. "Yeah good I'm, I mean, good I'm yeah, er," Marinette facepalmed and sighed, apparently giving up on on saying words in an order that made sense.

Adrien smiled down at her, completely oblivious, as usual. "It's ok, take your time, we're already late anyway."

Marinette snorted at that. Remembering Chat's advice from the night before and riding on a wave of sort-of-confidence, she asked hesitantly, "A-Actually, c-could you meet me on the steps when lunch starts? I, I need to tell you s-something."

A full sentence at normal speed and volume! Today really wasn't normal.

Adrien, still smiling obliviously, replied, "Sure Marinette, everything ok?"

"Y-yep," she answered, lying for the second time.

"Great, shall we _head_ in for our fashionably late entrance M'la- Marinette?" Adrien gestured in a very Chat Noir like way towards the entrance. Nodding, they walked into the school.

_I need to remember to not make a habit of staying up until 2 am on a rooftop in the cold with Chat Noir, _Marinette thought as she walked up the stairs to her class. _I thought I was talking to Chat instead of Adrien for a second._

_I should probably not make a habit of staying up until 2 am with M'lady, I thought Marinette sounded like her for a second, _Adrien smiled to himself as he thought of Ladybug, but that happiness changed to guilt when he remembered his kiss with Kagami.

* * *

Adrien and Marinette walked into class almost 10 minutes late together, and so they had raised some questions. Well, lots of questions.

Once Ms. Bustier had managed to quiet down the class, Adrien and Marinette had been able to take their seats, and Lila had stopped "congratulating" them for dating (to which both of them denied), Ms. Bustier began the morning's lessons.

Marinette wasn't paying attention. She tried, she really did, but when Alya wasn't sending her texts warning Marinette that she would be getting some answers as soon as she could ask, Marinette was trying to come up with exactly what she was going to say to Adrien. She wrote four rough drafts in her mind and mentally discarded all of them.

But to be fair, how does one tell someone that they've been in love with for almost a year one's feelings when that someone has kissed one of one's close friends?

The lunch bell came all too soon, and yet at the same time it also felt like an eternity to Marinette. Funny how those things work.

* * *

When Marinette finally was able to make it to the steps outside the school after escaping from Alya, only by assuring her that she was leaving to talk to Adrien, Adrien was already waiting for her.

"Hey Marinette," he greeted her warmly. "What's up?"

Before Marinette had time to chicken out and/or get lost in his big green eyes, she slammed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and did what she does best. She spoke from the heart.

"Adrien Agreste," she began. "Ever since the second day I knew you, you've shown me your kindness, offered me your support, and given me your friendship," she paused preparing herself what she was going to say next, but still not opening her eyes. "And for that I will always be grateful, but-" her voice shook, and for a moment she faltered. "But it friendship wasn't enough for me. I had a crush on y-you, the b-biggest crush, and I w-wanted more, I s-still w-want more." steeling her resolve Marinette got out the last of what she needed to say with only a few stray tears traveling down her cheeks. "I know you kissed Kagami, I know you have a crush on her and n-not on m-me, I know you two are probably dating."

Taking a deep breath, Marinette lifted her lids and looked Adrien right eye. "So your friendship will have to be enough. In my heart, for a while it still won't be. But with time, m-maybe." She noticed Adrien just staring at her with an expression that looked a little sad, but mostly shocked and confused.

Marinette finished looking down at her shoes. "I won't lie and say that I'm happy with it, nor that I'm happy for you and Kagami, but I'm happy that your happy, and I'm happy that she's happy, and I guess that's all I can be right now."

Adrien didn't say anything, and Marinette was too afraid to look up.

That was when they heard the screams.


End file.
